


Distracted

by LadyLibby



Category: House M.D.
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 07:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7258447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLibby/pseuds/LadyLibby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You sat in the cafeteria at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, eating lunch with Dr. James Wilson. He was talking about something….his office? No, House? No, wait, something about a college friend? Whatever it was, you’d both stopped paying attention, and forgotten what it was. Normally you’d listen attentively, as the man was your friend, and mentor of sorts. You shared an office, and he was the one to show you the ropes when you arrived a few months previously. That day, however, you were very distracted. Why? Well, because of a certain blond Australian...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Distracted

**Author's Note:**

> I'm rather proud of this one...I hope you like it!

You sat in the cafeteria at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, eating lunch with Dr. James Wilson. He was talking about something….his office? No, House? No, wait, something about a college friend? Whatever it was, you’d both stopped paying attention, and forgotten what it was. Normally you’d listen attentively, as the man was your friend, and mentor of sorts. You shared an office, and he was the one to show you the ropes when you arrived a few months previously. That day, however, you were very distracted. Why? Well, because of a certain blond Australian.  
You didn’t know Dr. Chase that well, the two of you only occasionally crossing paths at hospital events, in the halls, or in consults. You were merely acquaintances really. You hadn’t ever spoken for more than ten minutes.  
Why was he so distracting, one might ask, seeing as you didn’t really know each other. Well, a few days before, Cameron, aided by a few glasses of wine (something you learned back at the Mayo Clinic would always make her talk) told you he’d been asking about you. Well, curiosity killed the cat, and was slowly wasting you away.   
Did he like you? Or at least want to be your friend? Are you just jumping to conclusions? Probably. He and Cameron clearly slept together, why would he be interested in you? Why are you assuming it’s romantic? You need a hobby or something, jeez.  
All of this swirled around your brain as you continued to stare blankly at Wilson’s tie.   
“Wilson, you must be getting old. Can’t you see you’re boring this pretty little thing?”  
James stopped talking and you zoned back in. Dr. House, Mr. Asshole himself stood in front of the table.   
“Dr. L/N, right? I’d keep calling you Dr. Cute Ass, but Dr. Cuddy says that kind of thing ‘could get me fired.’”  
“What do you want, House?”  
“Not talking to you, Wilson.”  
“Can I help you Dr. House?”  
“I want your skill set on our current case.”  
“Really?”  
“No, I’m pranking you because I have nothing better to do.”  
“What’s the case?”  
“Do you accept the job?”  
So he was going to play this game, then. Well, what the hell, why not?  
“Yes.”  
“My office. 5 minutes.”  
With that he limped away. You turned to Wilson, slightly shocked.   
“What the hell was that?”  
“Well Y/N, it would seem you’re special.”  
****  
While Dr. Eric Foreman filled your in, Allison wasn’t being exactly subtle about her excitement. She’d been talking about wanting to work together since you arrived. Dr. House was obnoxiously watching what seemed to be General Hospital in the corner. Dr. Chase was quiet, and you didn’t notice the subtle looks he was sending your way. Foreman finally finished. The case was an 8 year old girl named Grace with shortness of breath, fever, chills, vomiting, sudden nosebleeds, and bruising.   
“What are the current theories?”  
Chase finally spoke, his voice smooth, smiling gently at you.  
“The fever, chills, and shortness of breath would account for pneumonia. We have her on amantadine, but the other symptoms are persisting. We have no idea what’s causing them.”  
“The other ones sound really familiar….Where do I come in?”  
It seemed that House had finally found the conversation worthy of his attention.   
“You are going to talk to the patient.”  
“I’m sorry, what? You said you needed my skill set.”  
“Word on the street is that you have the best bedside manner. She’ll open up to you.”  
“Wha-”  
“House, are you serious?”  
“As a heart attack, Cameron.”  
“Dr. L/N and I interned together! I KNOW she’s an excellent doctor.”  
“Patients open up to us all the time, why bring her in all of a sudden?”  
“That’s not what I’ve heard, Foreman.”  
“Dr. House-”  
“Wombat, we all know you’re biased, so shut up.”  
Biased? What does that mean? WHAT IS GOING ON?!  
“Dr. House, those other symptoms sounded very familiar to me. I’ll talk to the patient if you let me do some research and help figure this out. Otherwise, I quit.”  
“No need to throw a hissy fit. Fine. L/N and Chase talk to the girl. Foreman and Cameron get started on research.”  
****  
You and Chase left the office, and began the trek to Grace’s room.   
“He’s not always that bad.”  
“But he is most of the time, right?”  
Dr. Chase chuckled.   
“You get used to it.”  
“God, I hope not.”  
“Ah, here we are. Grace Gillepe.”  
Chase opened the door, holding it for you.   
“Thanks.”  
He nodded, smiling at you in a way that made your knees a bit weaker than they should be. Entering the room, you felt as though a hand took hold of your heart and squeezed. The little girl was lying in the bed, pale and barely breathing. Her mother sat next to the bed, holding her hand. The mom had red-rimmed eyes and had the creases of a scared parent in her forehead. She sat up straight and your heart broke at the hope in her face.   
“Are you Dr. House?”  
“No, I’m Dr. Y/N L/N. I’ve just been added to Grace’s case. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask a few questions.”  
“I’ll answer anything I can.”  
“Actually, I was wondering if I could ask Grace.”  
Grace shifts slightly, her voice hoarse and weak.   
“Do you know what’s wrong with me?”  
“Not yet. That’s why I’m here. I don’t want you to tire out your voice, so if a yes or no is the answer, just shake or nod, okay?”  
Nod.   
“Have you ever felt this sick before?”  
Shake.  
“Before you came to the hospital, did you have a different sickness? Or injury? Something you might’ve been taking medicine for?”  
Shake.   
“Does your house have paint?”  
Nod. You turned to her mother.   
“Is is lead paint?”  
“No, we made sure before moving in.”  
Hmmmm...what is it? You know what she has, it all sounds so familiar. So why can’t you place it?  
“Okay last question for now. What’s your favorite flavor of pudding?”  
Grace broke out into a big grin, making the hand around your heart loosen its grip.   
As you left her room, Chase grabbed your wrist, stopping you from continuing down the hall.   
“You are a really good doctor, but I have to admit that House was right.”  
“What?”  
“You were amazing in there. That was the first time I saw the mom smile since they got here.”  
You felt your face heat up, suddenly finding the sleeve of your lab coat very fascinating.   
“Thank you.”  
“Anytime.”  
****  
“Okay Grace, we’re going to do an MRI. The noises are going to be quite loud, and you might get scared, but you and I both know you’re one of the toughest girls out there, right?”  
You looked into her eyes, trying for an encouraging smile. She nodded, squeezing your hand.  
“Yeah.”  
“One more thing, you can’t move around too much, okay? Once you’re done, I’ll make sure you get one of the big stuffed bears your mom said you wanted. Does that sound like a plan?”  
She smiled again, and you felt a small sense of pride at getting her to smile twice in two hours.   
“Okay, I’ll be right behind the glass with Dr. Cameron and Dr. Chase. If you need us to stop, just say so, okay?”  
Nod.   
“Alright, lie back for me.”  
You made sure she was a positioned correctly, and rolled her into the machine. You crossed your fingers, hoping that this would provide some answers.   
****  
“She’s seizing!”  
The machines around Grace’s bed flashed and blared different sounds, all of which made your heart plummet. You’d been feet away from her room when everything went wrong. You watched through the window as she thrashed in the bed. Chase and Foreman were already in there and handling it, but you felt a pang of guilt run through you. Another symptom, and you still had no idea what was wrong. The MRI hadn’t shown anything helpful and you were running out of both time, and ideas.   
Many long, tense minutes later, Grace was stable, and Foreman and Chase emerged.   
“What now?”  
“We keep hitting the books.”  
You sighed.   
“Fine.”  
You made the mistake of looking into the room. Grace looked so small there, helpless and little. You tried to swallow the lump forming in your throat. Tears began to gather in your eyes despite you fighting them off as best you could. You turned away quickly, wanting to hide them from Chase and Foreman.  
“I-I’ll see you up there. I have to, um, do something.”  
You took off down the hall, tears already dropping onto your cheeks. You’d almost made it to the safety of your and Wilson’s office, when a familiar grip landed on your wrist.   
“Y/N, wait a moment.”  
Hurriedly wiping the tears on your face, you tried to pull away. You were never this weak. Crying over a patient! He must think you’re an amatuer.   
“I have to grab something from the office. I’ll be up in a minute.”  
“It’s not your fault.”  
“Robert-”  
He pulled you to him, hugging you tightly. Whatever you were going to say was lost in the safe feeling you got in hugging him.   
“You didn’t get her sick. And before you go off on me about it being your job, it’s all of our jobs, and we’re all stumped. So please, don’t put this on yourself.”  
His words only made you cry again. He was being so nice, you were making a scene, and you didn’t know what to do. You knew he was right, but the guilt was still a giant rock in your stomach. He just stood there with you in the hall and held you.   
You pulled away, regaining composure, and feeling a bit embarrassed.   
“I’m sorry you had to see that….and for getting your shirt wet…”  
“Don’t worry about my shirt. Are you alright?”  
“I’ll be fine, but we should really go up there now.”  
****  
You drank the last of the coffee in your cup, rubbing a hand over your face tiredly. Robert slid a new cup over to you with a tired smile.   
“How are you doing?”  
“Well, considering that it’s 2 am, considerably well.”  
He chuckled, brushing a hand over your briefly. You couldn’t stop the shivers from running down your spine.   
“Of all the days….”  
Allison came back into the room, clearly mad about something.   
“What’s wrong?”  
“Apparently, there’s a rodent problem in my apartment building. I have to go to a tenants meeting. I don’t have time for-”  
“I know what Grace has!”  
You shot to your feet, the rest of the team startled at your outburst.   
“Well?”  
“She was poisoned. Rat poison. I need to talk to the mom.”  
With that you rushed out of the office, Chase watching you go with a proud smile on his face.   
****  
Two days later, Grace was discharged, feeling much better. You went back to your old routine, your brief stint on House’s team over. You were happy to be back at your regular job, but bummed that you’d once again only be seeing Chase during short moments in the halls.   
So there you were, once again at lunch with Wilson. That day he was wearing a green tie that you could zone out looking at. He probably knew you were distracted, but chose to ignore it. You were falling deeper into your sense of ‘blah’ when an Australian accent drew you out of your thoughts.   
“Dr. Wilson, do you mind if I borrow Y/N for a minute?”  
“Not at all.”  
You scrambled to your feet, following him out into the hallway, a big dumb grin on your face.   
“Chase, where are we-”  
Before you could finish your question, he pulled you into a closet and closed the door.   
“Robert. I’m happy to see you, but why are we in a closet?”  
“So that I can do this without House seeing and making a scene.”  
He gripped your hips gently and leaned his head down. You grabbed the collar of his coat and met him halfway, pressing a hard kiss to his lips. He kissed back, and your hands wound around his neck, hands playing with the hair at the back of his neck. After a while, you pulled away to breath. He pressed his forehead to yours, smirking.   
“Are you doing anything tonight?”


End file.
